Who's A Good Captain?
by SerendipityDooDa
Summary: After Steve's run-in with a stray dog, Tony starts to notice some changes in the good captain...
1. Chapter 1

Tony emerged from his workshop for once in the past couple days. He finally decided that he wanted to get some coffee and went into the kitchen. It was about 4:30 AM, so he wasn't really expecting anyone else awake. As Tony poured his coffee, Steve rushes into the kitchen area. He was wearing sweats pants and a white T-shirt, so he must have been on his morning run. Tony had forgotten about that. But Steve seemed a little more distressed than usual.

"Hey, is there any first aid stuff around here?". Steve asked this with a frazzled look on his face.

"Second drawer on the right side of the island." Tony said slightly worried. "Why, what happened?".

Steve held up his left hand to show a pretty deep wound across it, but he spoke about it like it wasn't that big a deal.

"While I was on my run, I ran into this stray dog and it just came out of nowhere and bit me.".

Tony raised an eyebrow at Steve.

"That's...weird." he said normally. He didn't worry much about it since it was Steve. Sure the wound was pretty deep, but because of the Super Soldier serum it would heal up completely in a day or two. But a smirk crossed his face as he spoke again.

"Does the Captain want me to kiss it and make it better?" Tony said, as if talking to a baby.

Steve face grew red with irritation or embarrassment, maybe a bit of both.

"NO. It'll be fine, thanks." the blonde spoke spitefully.

Tony just shrugged and turned back to his coffee.

He still had a smug grin on his face.

"Suit yourself Cap. But you might wanna go see Banner still. Make sure you didn't get rabies from it or something.".

"I think I'll be fine. Just give it a day or two.". Steve grabbed the first aid kit and patted Tony on the shoulder semi-reassuringly before leaving the kitchen.

A couple days passed. Tony didn't believe Steve was "fine".

Two days after Steve was bit, Tony noticed him acting different. When they were sparring, Steve kept getting distracted by the smallest sounds and movements elsewhere. It took Tony fifteen minutes to get him to focus. Later that day, Steve kept on bugging Tony to go on a walk with him. When he finally gave in and said "sure", Steve basically went sprinting. The man was way too excited.

The next day, Tony found Steve eating a steak. A steak he had marinating in the refrigerator. A steak that wasn't even cooked. He just ate it RAW. Steve never did that. He was a medium-well kind of guy. Tony had an idea for the reason, but it was crazy. But considering he had a Demi-God and a man who can turn into a giant rage monster on his team with him, it seemed more and more plausible. Tony decided to further test his theory.

"Hey, uh Steve?" Tony spoke to the blonde, who turned his head to face Tony's as he finished the steak.

"Hey, Stark. What's up?".

Tony looked at Steve questioningly.

"Have you been feeling okay? I mean, for the past few days?".

Steve gave him a weird look.

"I've felt perfectly fine. Why?

...

Is this about that dog thing?".

Tony acted nonchalant, and started to slightly circle Steve.

"Maybe... Are you sure? No notable physical changes? Emotional shifts?".

Steve rapidly shook his head.

"No. I mean, I have felt more energetic lately, but other than that nothing feels any- Oooo..."

Steve let out a content sigh. Tony was lightly rubbing and scratching behind his ears.

Tony raised an eyebrow at the soldier.

"Does that feel good?".

Steve just sort of grunted.

"Don't talk, just keep doing that. It feels wonderful...".

Then he let out a small content growl. A GROWL.

Tony stopped scratching, leaving Steve to make a small whine. It has to be what Tony thought it was.

"Hey Steve?".

"What?" Steve soundly slightly irritated.

"Let's go for a little walk...".


	2. Chapter 2

"You lied to me Stark.".

"No I didn't, we went for a walk just like I said".

"But you didn't say it would take me to Bruce.".

Tony and Steve walked into the lab where Bruce usual worked. He was the only one in the tower other than JARVIS that would be able to test Tony's assumptions.

The two walked up behind Bruce while he was working, giving the scientist a start.

"Jesus C- Tony, you know not to do that.".

Tony just grinned slightly.

"Good to see you too Bruce. We need your help with something.".

Steve scowled. "I don't need help, I am fine.".

Bruce looked at the two of them questioningly.

"Okay, what's going on?".

Tony grabbed Steve's shoulder, trying to keep him put, and started to explain.

"Well, our spangly friend here got bit by some mutt the other day, and since then he has exhibited signs of Lycanthropy.".

Bruce scoffed. "Tony. Seriously?".

Steve cut them off before they started to argue.

"Wait a minute, what lickcantro... Whatever you said?".

Bruce looked back at Steve with disbelieving look.

"Tony is talking about Werewolves, Steve.".

Steve started to chuckle.

"Are you serious? Werewolves aren't real. They are mythical creatures.".

Tony looked back at Steve, disbelieving.

"Are you freaking serious? I think werewolves are more believable than demigods and green rage monsters, and look who we have on our team!". He gestured at Bruce during the last statement.

Bruce looked slightly exasperated.

"So, can you tell me what lead you to this assumption?".

"Gladly." Tony said confidently.

"He gets distracted by the smallest things now- it took forever to get him focused during training- and he has gotten VERY excitable. Oh! And he ate a raw steak about 10 minutes ago. A RAW steak.".

Bruce didn't seem convinced.

"He could have been drinking coffee. And a lot of people like rare steak.".

"But he doesn't eat them that way!" Tony said, slightly frenzied. "And it wasn't rare, it was raw. I still had them marinating. That's not even the weirdest part yet. He constantly wants to go for a walk, and-".

"He likes exercise. Thats a normal thing.". Bruce interrupted Tony before he got any further.

Steve grinned.

"Face it, Stark. Werewolves don't exist.".

Tony glared at Steve, then turned back to the scientist.

"Bruce, when we were talking I went and scratched behind his ears. He completely stopped talking and made a happy growling sound. He. GROWLED. I swear the man is a freaking DOG!".

Both Steve and Bruce looked back at Tony contemplatively. Bruce was the first to say something.

"Look Tony, if it will make you feel better, I will take a blood sample from Steve and see if there are any anomalies.".

Steve let out a small growl at the thought of it, but he quickly stopped when Bruce and Tony were both looking back at him.

Bruce sounded wary.

"Did you just growl at me...?".

Tony gestured at Steve

"See? That's the sort of thing I am talking about. He's acting weird.".

Steve just looked back at the two slightly embarrassed. Why did he do that? He never really cared for needles, but he learned to deal with them. He never openly showed his problems with them. Especially never growled about it. He HIGHLY doubted that it was werewolves, but maybe there was something that was wrong with him.

Reluctantly, Steve sighed and walked over towards Bruce.

"Sorry. Let's just try to get it done and over with as soon as possible.".

Bruce nodded and went to get his materials. He turned back to Tony.

"Tony, you can go if you want. I just have to get Steve's blood and then do some research once the test is complete. There isn't really anything left for you to do.".

At that, Tony turned and left with a half-assed wave. He went and waited outside of the lab door.

Five minutes later, Tony heard the door open and out walked Steve. Before he could make a smart remark, Tony was cut off by a glare from Steve. The glare was one he never thought Steve could produce. It was filled with so much spite and anger, it actually sort of scared Tony. He swallowed nervously as Steve turned and walked away.

Whatever was wrong with Steve, Tony really hoped they could cure him soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony had come out from his workshop the next morning to get his coffee as usual. He had gone back into it to work more in order to keep away from Steve. That look Steve gave him after he left Bruce's lab yesterday totally threw Tony an 'I loathe you so much right now' vibe, so Tony thought it best to let Cap chill out for a while.

As Tony walked to retrieve his caffeine fix, he passed by the gym and saw Steve through the glass. He thought maybe he might be able to talk to Steve, but waited and watched to see when a good time to come in would be. Steve was beating away at the punching bag like it was his job, like the bag insulted his mother. Tony had made the chains on the bags reinforced so they wouldn't break like normal ones usually did when Steve socked them one, but it was swinging pretty harsh and Steve's face looked 'kill-y'.

Maybe Tony would talk to him when Steve wasn't ready to snap a person like a twig.

"Sir?" A voice spoke from nowhere.

Tony snapped out of his thoughts and responded.

"What's up, JARVIS?"

"What is 'up' is that Dr. Banner wishes to see both you and Captain Rogers in his lab. It appears he wishes to share his test results.".

Tony looked back to see Steve gathering his gym bag and walking out the gym door. Steve saw Tony and scowled at him. Apparently he was still in a bad mood. Tony started walking towards Bruce's lab, Steve catching up and walking next to him.

"Ready to find out you're just a nut-job, Stark?" Steve spoke smugly. Tony wore a grin that was equally as smug, grabbing the lab's door handle as he spoke.

"Only if you're ready to find out this 'nut-job' was right, Rogers.".

Both men walked into the lab to see Bruce fiddling around with a stack of papers.

"Hey there Brucey!" Tony spoke jovially. "JARVIS says you have some information for us~?".

Bruce looked back at Tony, slightly perturbed.

"Please, don't call me 'Brucey'. We are grown men and its unsettling. And yes, I do have information. For STEVE. I know you would find out about it one way or another though, so I invited you in to save us all trouble.". Tony just successfully smirked at Bruce's assumption, because Tony totally would. Steve just huffed at him, scowl still on his face.

"If you two would have a seat, we'll get started.". Bruce continued getting the papers together. Steve and Tony looked around their area, not finding another chair around. They opted to sitting indian-style on the floor for lack of a better idea. Bruce looked back at them apologetically, realizing his error.

"Sorry, I forgot... How about we just get right to it.".

The other two men looked to the doctor and nodded, urging on to proceed with the proceedings.

"As I was waiting for Steve's blood work to process, I looked up different information about different lore dealing with lycanthropy. First things I found were the signs: increasing violence, increasing aggression, unprovoked rages, insomnia, restlessness, and other bizarre behaviors.".

"Which Cap has been experiencing a LOT lately." Tony retorted. Steve huffed back at Tony.

"Well, I'm not so sure about the whole 'unprovoked' thing, Stark.".

"That may be true," Bruce chimed in "but it still stands that you have been exhibiting almost all of the symptoms. Which leads us to the blood results...".

Tony's eyes and ears perked up while Steve kept his cool façade. Bruce pushed his glasses up onto his nose before speaking again.

"Upon inspecting the blood, it was relatively the same as ever... except there are now traces of blood cells residing in it that are similar to those of wolf's blood...".

"So, what you are saying is that Steve _is_ a-?"

"As the evidence stands so far... Yeah. He kind of is.".

The room went silent after that. Tony was right, but instead of celebrating he felt sorry for Steve. He couldn't imagine what could be going through the blonde's mind right now. He didn't think that someone being told they were a werewolf would take the news too well. Steve finally broke the silence, a solemn tone in his voice.

"Did you happen to find any formulas for a cure?".

Bruce sadly shook his head.

"Not yet, I still have a lot of research to do on the subject. At this rate though, finding a formula before the next full moon is highly unlikely.".

"Well, when is the next full moon?" Tony asked curiously.

"In about a week.". Bruce replied. "5 or 6 days at most.".

Tony looked back at Steve who was nodding thoughtfully at the information.

"And the transformation? How is that supposed to go for me?" Steve said in all seriousness.

Bruce's face looked rather unsure.

"From what I have found, it has two ways it could go. First off, leading up to the initial transformation will be a bit discomforting. From there, the transformation could be absolutely painless or extremely painful. However, neither of the choices are going to be 'fun' to deal with...".

Steve was silent for the moment, trying to get all of the information he was being given etched in his mind.

"So, what are we going to do when it comes to that point?".

Bruce looked down at his papers and looked back at Steve.

"We could put you in the Hulk chamber here in the lab. At least the day of the transformation, just to be on the safe side until I can figure out more about your current 'condition'."

Steve nodded in acceptance, face set in a look of deep thinking.

The room remained eerily silent for the longest time. Steve looked back to Tony and broke the silence.

"What's up with you, Stark? You been oddly quiet. I figured you be all in my face, telling me 'I told you so!'.".

Tony just lightly shook his head back and forth, a neutral look set on his face.

"You'd think I would be, but...".

_Not when its something serious like this..._ Tony finished in his mind. He couldn't get the rest of his thought to come out of his mouth.

Steve started to stand up, then turned back to Bruce.

"If that's all you wanted to share for now, then I'll be going back to gym if anyone needs me. Thank you, Dr. Banner.". He curtly nodded towards Bruce before leaving.

Tony's eyes followed Steve as he left, filled with a trace of empathy. Bruce lightly cleared his throat and broke Tony out of his gaze.

"Tony," Bruce started "could you keep watch on Steve while this whole event goes on? Just to make sure nothing unforeseen happens...?".

Tony nodded, releasing a breath he had apparently been holding. Werewolf-sitting was sure going to be an 'interesting' experience.


	4. Chapter 4

{Four Days before Full Moon}

Were-sitting didn't actually seem too hard, it was just kind of tricky to keep up with Steve now. He had a lot of energy to burn and couldn't stay doing one thing for long periods of time. Which left Tony to keep a constant eye on Steve, to both of their dismay. Tony couldn't go to work on things in his lab because he had to keep an on his now lycanthropic teammate. Steve didn't think he needed a babysitter and didn't really seem thrilled it was Tony doing the sitting.

This situation did give the two time to bond though, whether they wanted to or not didn't matter. Tony at least thought it could help with how they worked on the field, so he was going to try and deal with Steve for that sake.

Tony would go with Steve when he went to the gym and would do gentle exercises as Cap worked to burn off energy. He suggested that they try watching a movie Steve missed while he had been frozen (nothing involving Werewolves...). That lasted for about a half hour before Steve became restless again.

Steve got up and ran out of the TV room, a confused Tony attempting to follow. He had lost track of the blonde after looking down a myriad of hallways. Tony smirked for a moment.

"Here Stevie, Stevie, Stevie!" He called, then proceeded to whistle for the man. Tony waited a moment, to no avail. He sighed deeply.

"It was worth a shot. Hey, JARVIS? Can you locate Rogers for me?" Tony yelled out to nothing.

"He is out on the roof, sir." The AI replied. "May I suggest wearing a light jacket? It is rather chilly outside at the moment.".

Tony grinned at the response.

"Your suggestion will be put into consideration. Thanks, J.".

Tony walked out on the roof and lightly shivered.

"Damn, it is pretty brisk out here..." he muttered to himself. Tony looked around and found Steve. He was standing on the railing of the semi-balcony platform, looking up mesmerized by the waxing moon. Tony sighed and walked up to join Steve, standing beside him and breaking the thick silence.

"So, ya came out here in the cold to do...what exactly?".

Steve kept looking towards the sky, voice coming out dazed.

"...Thinking...".

"About what?"

Steve snapped out of his daze and sighed heavily.

"Everything. This whole situation, things that could happen.".

His tone started to turned agitated.

"I mean, I don't know how I am going to react to the change. What if I can't recognize any of you? What if Hulk's chamber can't hold me, and I end up attacking one of you? What if this thing is permanent and one of our enemies finds out? They could use it against us. I'm sure its not hard to find a werewolf's weaknesses.".

Tony looked back at Steve. He doesn't think he has ever seen Steve this worried about anything. Captain America always had everything carefully planned out and kept his cool, even in the toughest of battles. Hell, it even says in his song that he was strong and brave. The Star Spangled Man with a Plan. But this wasn't Captain America he was dealing with right now. This was Steve Rogers. Steve Rogers could get worried. Steve Rogers could get scared.

Tony let out a deep breath before speaking his piece.

"Steve," he started. "You need to not worry so much about it. I know how you are, and you personally would never try to hurt any of us. Even if you don't recognize us, we would be sure to keep you in a situation where you wouldn't feel threatened. A way where you could feel safe and in turn keep us safe.".

Steve silently nodded in agreement, his face slightly somber. Tony lightly nudged Steve with his elbow and grinned.

"You just have to trust us. We trust you, big and hairy or otherwise.".

Steve grinned and playfully rolled his eyes at the brunette.

"Gee thanks, that's reassuring.".

They both chuckled at each other's banter, feeling as if some of the weight in the air had been lifted. Both stood there looking up towards the sky, a cool breeze passing through.

Tony shivered, seriously wishing he had brought that jacket. He looked to the blonde and wondered how he could stand out here in a short sleeved t-shirt.

"How in the hell are you not freezing out here? It's making me shiver just looking at you.".

Steve responded with a shrug and a smirk.

"I dunno. I guess when you've been frozen in ice for seventy years, the cold doesn't really phase you.".

"Well, I haven't had the pleasure so I am going inside before I DO. Don't stay out here too long, Cap.".

Tony playfully smacked Steve's shoulder with the back of his hand and went back to the door. Steve watched earnestly as the man walked inside to get warm. He then turned back to face the sky, a warm grin growing on his lips.


End file.
